no 



RECREATION. 



them, the canoe pointing now this way, 

 now that, now up the stream, now down, 

 ever guided by the unerring stroke of the 

 paddle and prevented from what seemed 

 inevitable swamping ; rising to the waves 

 with a peculiar sweep of the pad- 

 dles that fairly lifted the canoe 

 out of the water. Thus we zigzagged 

 across the turbulent flood. To have at- 

 tempted a passage by a direct line would 

 have meant certain destruction. How the 

 guides do it, no one knows. It was enough 

 for us that we were safely shot across the 

 stream without shipping a drop of water, 

 and for what? Ouananiche! 



Old Joe evidently thought I had received 

 sufficient education the previous day, for 

 on our arrival at the pools at the foot of 

 the rapids he left me without a word, 

 with young Joe as an attendant, and, like 

 a gallant voyageur, devoted himself entirely 

 to "de Madame," as he deferentially called 

 her. 



He escorted her to the same rock where 

 I had received my first lessons. There 

 old Morel labored as patiently as he had 

 with me, hooking the first fish or 2 and 

 handing her the rod while he used the 

 landing net. 



Domestic responsibilities have rendered 

 Mrs. Wife self possessed and dignified, 

 with an unruffled calm which, to use a 

 metropolitan metaphor, seldom slops over; 

 hence, I needed no explanation when to 

 the rock where I stood submerged to my 

 knees on a lower ledge, some 50 yards dis- 

 tant from her, came a muffled scream and 

 I saw her dancing a hornpipe in a space 

 where good footing was dependent on re- 

 maining quiet. She had hooked her first 

 fish and he was describing graceful curves 

 in the air, leaping half a dozen times in 

 succession, in a vain endeavor to dislodge 

 the hook, the water dripping from his 

 brilliant sides as he fell back each time 

 with a splash. She played with him fully 

 15 minutes, Joe finally landed him. The 

 fish weighed 2]/ 2 pounds. 



Half an hour later Mrs. Wife hooked a 

 pair of them, one on each fly, and they 

 made a beautiful display as they fought 

 for their liberty. She had the good sense 

 to hand the rod to Joe, but even that old 

 veteran was not equal to the task, a very 

 difficult one I have since learned, and both 

 fish got away, one taking the flv with him. 

 It was a case of the survival of the fittest, 

 and the gallant fish earned their liberty. 



In the face of rare luck, we stopped to 

 lunch, on ouananiche and bacon, crackers 

 and cheese, with a hard boiled egg on the 

 side, washed down with strong tea. We 

 both acknowledged that we had fared 

 worse many a time and paid more. Short- 

 ly after noon heavy clouds began to scud 

 across the sky and settled down to a heavy 



rain, which continued the rest of the after- 

 noon. The wind and waves carried the 

 scum away from the rocks from which we 

 had been fishing; so, packing up our stuff, 

 we took the canoe to a small island near, 

 where we remained the rest of the day. 

 I had gone around on one side of the islet 

 to tfy my luck away from the others, when 

 Joe came after me in a hurry, saying ex- 

 citedly, 



"Big feesh jomp in de foam." 



I hastened back just in time to see a 

 tremendous fellow leap fully 3 feet in the 

 air from the middle of a broad patch of 

 scum about 35 feet distant. Even as I 

 cast for the spot, up he came a second 

 time. I had learned to cast fairly well, 

 and it was with comparative ease, which 

 brought a shout of approval from old 

 Morel, that I pulled it through, leaving a 

 little wake behind. Another cast, hoping 

 and praying that my good angel might be 

 somewhere around, when down went the 

 tip of my rod till it touched the water. 

 Something ripped out from between my 

 lips which Madame would not repeat, and 

 the battle was on. 



Six times that magnificent fish leaped 

 from the water, into which I had walked 

 waist deep in my excitement, and at each 

 jump I received an electric shock which 

 made me feel as if I had touched a live 

 wire. I have not the words to express my 

 sensations at that moment. The incident 

 stands alone, absolutely unique. Nothing 

 in any other of my experiences can be 

 compared with it. I played that fish, or 

 rather he played me, 32 minutes, by Mrs. 

 Wife's watch, before he yielded the fight 

 and came into the landing net. 



"Big feesh," indeed, that "jomp in de 

 foam." He weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces 

 that night at the Island House. He was 

 the biggest catch of the day and to have 

 remained longer would have been like re- 

 turning to an entree after dessert had been 

 served. I was satisfied to return^ feeling 

 much as the old patriarch probably felt 

 when he said, "Lord now lettest thou thy 

 servant depart in peace." 



For the first time during the day 

 I stopped to admire the quarry 

 I had taken. How beautiful the peacock 

 blue shade and hues that o'erspread his 

 sides, but that soon disappeared, giving 

 place to well defined silver and black, 

 with the black crosses and spots. How 

 graceful and artistic the lines which tap- 

 ered the body, creating the impression of 

 length and weight ! Noting also the 

 breadth of the powerful tail and the strong 

 fins, it was not difficult to understand 

 how he held his own in the swirling eddies 

 of the grande chute. 



When Morel gathered up the spoils 

 there were 26 fish, aggregating 52 pounds, 



